


Absentis Monumentum

by CorgiFromSpace



Category: Farscape
Genre: F/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-30
Updated: 2008-12-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorgiFromSpace/pseuds/CorgiFromSpace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aeryn is injured planetside, and on Moya, John tries to deal with the rest of the crew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at Terra Firm on 30th December 2008
> 
> Set between 'Twice Shy' and 'Mental as Anything'.

The pulse pistol fire shot overhead, showering the air with sparks and rubble from the surrounding buildings. John Crichton, Ka D'Argo and Aeryn Sun were hastily retreating while returning fire. Suddenly, errant pulse fire collapsed the building Aeryn was taking cover near, sending an avalanche of debris raining down around her. One of the smaller pieces struck her forehead and she fell into a heap on the ground.

"Aeryn!" John yelled, ducking behind D'Argo as he strapped Winona to his leg. Moving as one, they approached Aeryn's position. Once there, John knelt over her motionless body.

"Aeryn! Aeryn, baby, can you hear me? Aeryn?" John whispered while stroking her long black hair away from her face. He lifted her hand and kissed it while checking for a pulse.

"John, we have to keep moving!" D'Argo called as he shot down another peacekeeper with his Qualta Blade.

"She's got a pulse, but it's faint! We have to get her back to Moya, NOW! Cover me, I'll carry her!" John swept Aeryn into his arms and once again ducked behind D'Argo as they ran back to the transport pod.

Once onboard, John placed Aeryn on the bench behind the co-pilots chair and took the controls, flying the transport pod back to Moya. D'Argo took the co-pilots chair.

"Pilot, we're coming in! Aeryn's been hurt, have Noranti ready to treat her!' John signalled as Moya came into sensor range. Once the docking net had them, her let go of the controls and lifted Aeryn into his arms.

"She'll be okay, John," D'Argo said reassuringly as the pod docked.

John carefully climbed down the stairs into the bay, where Chiana was waiting. After seeing that John and D'Argo were okay, she walked behind them as John carried Aeryn to Noranti.

"Ah, just a head wound, no need to worry!" Noranti said as she shoved herbs into her mouth to sample them.

"Just fix her, okay?" John said and sat beside Aeryn's bed. He took her hand in his and slowly circled his thumb over the back of her palm.

"Hey,' Chiana said, sitting down beside him. "You've got blood all over you, were you hit?"

"No," John realised just how much blood Aeryn had lost. She looked so pale.

"You'd better clean off. She's going to want you here when she wakes, and you covered in blood isn't going to do her much good. I'll stay and help Noranti clean her up."

"Thanks, Chi," John rose and went to the door. "Stay with her until I get back?"

"Of course.," Chiana picked up the rag beside the bed, wet it and proceeded to gently dab away the blood that lined Aeryn's face.

* * *

 

John walked back to his quarters, knowing Aeryn would not wake for at least an arn. The empty echoing of his footsteps through the tier sent cold shivers down his spine. Just days ago Aeryn had approached him about Noranti's 'treatment' in this same corridor. Since then, they had spent fleeting moments together whenever they could ditch their comms long enough to avoid Scorpius. Their trip to the planet was going to be the final step in them making up. But nothing was ever that simple in Tormented Space. Now, because of him, Aeryn was lying, unconscious in the med bay and if he went to comfort her, Scorpius would find out the truth behind the ruse that only Pilot knew about.

"Ah, FRELL!" John cursed once he was safely in his quarters. His cot was only a few steps away, but he didn't have the control to get that far. Instead, he fell to the ground in vain, hugging his knees and holding his head in his hands at the same time. He no longer bothered to hold back the tears that had barely been hidden on the planet.

"John. John, John, John!" All of a sudden, John had been transported into an small western town from some old western he must have seen once. And, like always, the neural Scorpy clone was in full costume, cowboy hat, boots, pants and shirt. As John got his bearings, he realised he was dressed in similar get up.

"Not now, Harvey! Can't I get a minute to myself any more?" Deep down, John couldn't even get angry, not while he knew that Aeryn was in trouble.

"But John, your mind is the only place I can talk to you with out risk of you being overheard by the others. That is, if you still want them to think that you and Aeryn are-"

"Fine, Harv, What do you want? Are you gonna criticize me about frelling up, again?"

"Quite the contrary, John. I was merely going to remind you that Aeryn has made it through worse."

"I'm not so sure she has, Harvey."

* * *

Chiana dabbed carefully at Aeryn's forehead, carefully removing all traces of blood. Tears ran freely, but her mind was elsewhere, on Crichton in fact.

"Frell, Aeryn, " Chiana whispered to the unconscious women beside her. "When you wake up you better tell Crichton the truth about how you feel or there's gonna be a lot more dren to deal with."

If only the two weren't apart. If only they had worked out their problems. Chiana had seen the negative impact on Crichton when Aeryn was gone, and now saw the negative impact of him being angry. It wasn't like John to be like this.

"Frell, frell, FRELL!" She swore, before dissolving into a fresh batch of tears.

* * *

By the time John had cleaned up, the rest of Moya's crew were seated in the galley. They looked up as he came in, but said nothing as he grabbed a plateful of food for himself and headed back to Aeryn's side. She hadn't moved and didn't stir as John sat beside her.

Arns passed with little change. The crew came for a few microts each but all eventually left. John began to worry about whether he'd every see Aeryn wake. He'd already exhausted all his energy whispering to about what was happening out the "window" and was now just sitting in silence.

The silence wasn't entirely a bad thing though. If there had been even the slightest noise, John would not have been able to hear Aeryn's muffled breathing and occasional groan. The noise gave him comfort, hope that she'd soon wake.

There was a sudden movement in front of him, and John snapped to attention.

"Aeryn? Hey, Aeryn, baby, you awake?" John could barely hold back the emotion in his voice, and it seemed to him as if he had choked each word out.

Aeryn looked up at him from the bed. She blinked and John could see her try to get her eyes in focus. She flinched from his touch as they did and she opened her mouth, as if to say something. When no words came out, she licked her lips, swallowed and tried again.

"Name, rank and regiment," Aeryn's voice could only just be recognised as a whisper. At first, John thought he'd miss heard her, but when she spoke again he knew he'd heard correctly, and his stomach fell.

"Name, rank and regiment"


	2. Chapter 2

"Look guys, you know I should be the one there when she wakes up again. If she has lost her memories, and from what we've seen so far, she probably has, she'd be better off with a Sebacean near her," John grew tired of the argument. They'd been at it since John had informed them of Aeryn's possible memory loss, and that was at least an arn ago. "She's not gonna know the difference between human and Sebacean and besides, beside me and Chiana, who here knows Aeryn that well? How many of you does she trust?

"Crichton, I do not see your point!" D'Argo pounded his fists on the table.

"Well then, I guess I'll explain it, again! Aeryn Sun has possibly lost her memory. We don't know what she last remembers, but we can be fairly certain she believes she is still a peacekeeper. She will, therefore, still have the same old peacekeeper mentality" John paused, seeing his point was finally getting across. "And, as a peacekeeper, how would she see us? Certainly not as friends!"

"I believe I understand" Sikozu said from the corner where she had been standing since the argument began. "If she has reverted to peacekeeper mentality, the only one she will trust is Crichton, because he looks Sebacean enough to fool most. The rest of us cannot be there, because, as a peacekeeper, she would not look kindly at a Kalish, because of our alliance with the Scarrans, nor would she pick favour from a half-breed like Scorpius. I've heard many a story about the 'keeping the blood lines pure' training that all peacekeeper children go through. I don't believe they care to much for Luxans or Nebari either" Chiana and D'Argo shook their heads. "Therefore, it makes sense for Crichton, who is as close to Sebacean as we have, to watch over Aeryn, and build her trust."

"Well, why didn't you just say that!" D'Argo said, turning his attention back to John.

"I did. Multiple times! You just weren't listening!" John's anger was easily detected, but he kept it in check as he focused on the rest of the crew. " So, are we in agreement?"

The crew nodded their heads in affirmation, before they left the galley to return to their duties. All except Chiana, who remained behind, with a look of both anger and despair on her face.

"What?" John said as he noticed the chilling glare the Nebari was casting in his direction.

"You really are a fekkik, you know that?" She said, with anger rising in her voice. "You told Aeryn point blank that you did NOT want to be with her, that it was over. I heard it, D'Argo heard it, we all heard it. But now, your acting like you actually give a frell! Which I don't think you do, having seen the way you've acted over the last few monens. When she wakes up and sees you, how do you think she's gonna feel? If she has her memories, she's gonna know you who you are and all the pain you caused her. And she's gonna think you still care if your there when she wakes up! Frell, I even thought that you cared when you carried her back on board. I know D'Argo thinks you do. But if you still cared about her, you wouldn't be rationalizing you being at her side by saying anything other then that you LOVE her. Frell you, Crichton, I won't let you break her heart again!"

"Chiana-" John tried to interject, but Chiana kept going, ignoring John's pained expression.

"You just keep hurting her, you know? Ever since I've known you, I known you two were attracted to each other. But then BAM! You went and got yourself married to some frelling princess and she ends up in the desert with a broken leg, accompanied by some pain in the eema just to avoid you! She busted into a shadow depository after you gave up and went in there, and you just went all crazy on her. Frell, you ended up KILLING her, and then Zhaan died to get her back for you. Now, after the whole twinning thing, you just sit around wallowing in your own self pity!"

"CHIANA!" John tried again but again Chiana continued.

"When she got back to Moya, you were happy and so was she. But then there was a little problem with her pregnancy, and you start taking a drug to forget about her. Do you have any idea what that did to her? She learnt English for you. She frelling went to Earth for you, despite her fears. She's spend almost a quarter of a cycle crying over you, and I'd bet she'd be willing to die for you, but you just keep building her frelling hopes, just to tear them back down to a pile of dren!"

"Chiana, shut up! Just please. Shut. Up!" John let his head fall against his arms, folded on the table before mumbling for Pilot to disable the comms. in the galley. He then lifted his head and turned to Chiana, who did not miss the tears in his eyes.

"Do you think I wanted those things to happen? Fate has a way of frelling with me and I am so sick of it." There was more to be said, but John couldn't muster enough strength to say it.

"So you just let her be heartbroken?" Chiana lashed out viciously.

"Look Chi, there's more going on here then you know. I was never happy when she got back to Moya. She had frelling heat delirium and bought Scorpius with her. She's not the only one who's been heartbroken over the last cycles. You saw me when she died! I was ready to die myself! I had no choice but to take the lakka bulb, and it was the hardest thing I had ever done." John knew he'd just blown the secret, but he didn't care anymore. Aeryn needed him, and Chiana was being impossible.

"You say 'had' like you've stopped taking it," Chiana observed, realisation dawning in her eyes. She saw the pain in John's eyes, and cursed inwardly, finally recognising her mistake.

"We never- We didn't- It was never over. What you heard was a fabrication, to keep Scorpy from finding out that she was my weakness. He's using the comms. to spy on us. Aeryn and I have both had comms. disabled in our quarter's, so we could be together, without him knowing. That's why Aeryn and I hadn't a problem with going planetside together. We had to lie, if, Scorpy knew, he'd- he'd-. I couldn't put her through that Chi." By the time John had finished, Chiana was sitting beside him, comforting him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise, didn't know…" She cast around her brain to find the right words. To her surprise, John laughed!

"You weren't supposed to know Chiana. That was the point of the secret! We thought it best that no one knew, especially after the last secret…"

"I swear, I won't frell it up!" She said, feeling a little guilty.

"You'd better. If Scorpius finds out, I will not be happy," John stood and walked to the door.

"Hey, John? I really am sorry," Chiana couldn't put the rest into words, but she knew John understood. He nodded and headed back to the med bay to be with Aeryn.

"Frell!" She said. It looked like things were going to be a lot more complicated…


	3. Chapter 3

eryn opened her eyes and looked around. She'd expected to be on the medical deck of a Command Carrier, but it appeared as if she was on a Leviathan. She tried to remember how she got there, but the last thing she remembered was being on Captain Crais' Command Carrier –prowler detail- and there was no way she'd imagined that.

"Aeryn?" A mans voice rang out from the far corner of the bay and she turned to look at him. He stood on the deck, stiff-legged, straight-backed, with his hands folded behind him at the small of his waist. Aeryn could see he was Sebacean, although, he was not wearing standard peacekeeper uniform, and wore a smile that seemed out of place in the harsh militaristic world she lived in.

"Who the frell are you?" Aeryn asked, and sprung to her feet, grabbing the man by the shoulders and running him into the wall behind him. She saw a look of distress, or was it worry, flash across his face, as she held him hard against the wall.

"Calm down, Aeryn.". I'm guessing the last thing you remember is being on a command carrier, prowler detail?" Aeryn nodded. "Well then, we need to talk. It would be easier to explain if you put me down though."

"NO! You explain this to me now, and if I agree with the explanation, you can go."

"It's not that simple, Aeryn. You are NEVER going to fully except the story, or what happened. The best I can do is try and scratch the surface on what has happened to you."

"Look, whoever you are, you seem to know me. Therefore you should know to just answer me."

"Fine. My name is John Crichton, astronaut. My rank is Commander, but I'm not military, at least, not any military you know. We've known each other for over three and a half cycles. When you met me, you were deemed "Irreversibly Contaminated" due to contact from an unclassified alien life form. I know that at the moment you think I am Sebacean, however, I am not. I am a human, from Earth. The rest is unimportant, but I have to make sure you understand that you have not been a peacekeeper for three and a half cycles."

"Enough of these lies!" Aeryn had no idea what a 'hooman' was, but this man was surely Sebacean. As he started talking again, Aeryn heard the language behind the translator microbes. It was not Sebacean.

"-Apart from heat delirium, which Sebaceans suffer and humans do not, we don't know if there is an illness that causes memory loss in your people, which is why we believe it has something to do with your head injury. I understand that your scared Aeryn-"

"Scared! I am a peacekeeper, we do NOT fear ANYTHING!" Aeryn shoved john against the wall and sprinted out of the med bay, and towards the Leviathan's upper tiers.

Like most Leviathans Aeryn had been on, the upper tiers were used mostly for item storage, as well as an area to put unwanted clutter that had accumulated over the cycles. Unlike most Leviathans however, the upper tiers on this Leviathan were organised into sections, and it didn't take Aeryn long to work out how it was arranged. As was expected, she was unable to find any weapons, but she did manage to find some peacekeeper uniforms and a data transmitter. It was time to find out if John Crichton's words were correct.

* * *

"Pilot, Aeryn appears to be heading toward Moya's upper tiers, can you confirm?" John was on his feet and running to command before Pilot confirmed. "Tell the others to meet me in command, and Pilot, if Aeryn finds you and –orders- you to do something, I would suggest you comply. This is Aeryn we're talking about, and while she may be in peacekeeper mode, she is our friend!"

By the time John reached command, the other had gathered and been informed of the situation.

"Crichton! What were you thinking! I thought the point of you being there was to trick her into security" D'Argo had John up against the wall, again, and John was in no mood for it.

"Look D, I didn't think we should lie to her. She would have known if I was lying, and she had me in this same position, which is killing my back by the way, and was threatening to Pantak jab me, in which case we would be in this same situation!" John wriggled out of D'Argo's grip when the Luxan reduced his pressure.

"Pilot, can you be sure Aeryn doesn't leave the upper tiers?" D'Argo asked, taking initiative as captain.

"It is done, Ka D'Argo," Pilot's holo-image appeared on the clamshell so he and Moya could be included in the conversation.

"Thank you," John said, rubbing his shoulders. "Now, I think I have a plan, but we'll have to act fast. Sikozu, Scorpius, can you make a stun bomb that will render Aeryn unconscious without harming her and that can be hidden in Moya's passageways without detection so Aeryn won't notice it?"

"I believe we can establish a suitable design," Scorpius said, and Sikozu nodded.

"Right, well, as timing is everything, you'd best get on that now, before Aeryn turns her attention to returning to peacekeeper space. I believe that at the moment, she'll be looking for information on where and who we are."

Scorpius and Sikozu accepted that without question, and headed off to the lab. After they left, and were far enough away to not hear him, John turned his attention to Pilot.

"Pilot, comms.?"

"Currently disabled,"

"Thanks. So, now their gone, we need to work out how to get Aeryn's memory back."

"Just hold it a microt, will you?" D'Argo said, adapting an Earth saying. 'Why did Pilot disable the comms.? Why are you only discussing this now with Scorpius or Sikozu? What in the name of Hezmana is going on?!?"

"Look, I don't have time for this. Aeryn will only be distracted by her search for information so long and-"

"John and Aeryn are back together and their keeping it a secret from Scorpius," Chiana interrupted. John gave her a deadly look and she cocked her head to the side. "What? You think they'd dare sell you out? Their not stupid John, You couldn't hide it from them for ever!"

"Wait, Chiana, you knew? Why did you not say something?" D'Argo looked furious at the deception.

"Scorpy is using the comms. to spy on us. He'd have over heard," John said, growing impatient. "Like I said, we don't have time for this. We need to work out a way to get Aeryn's memory back!"

"I agree," Noranti said, looking up from her herbs. "I believe I have an answer. Is there a smell, or a taste, or a sight that she would only have experienced since leaving the peacekeepers? Something that would have a physical memory. It would force her to remember. I am working on the assumption that her only her mental memories are missing, and that her physical memories -things that the body will recognize and respond to- are intact."

"Hey, what about Earth?" Chiana said, but John shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't work. She's seen lots of similar planets, and besides, she knows no planets are the same, and it wouldn't do to jog her memory."

"What about a taste from Earth? Food? Something unique?" Rigel proposed, thinking with his stomach.

"Aeryn related most of the food she tasted on earth to food she'd encountered out here," Chiana said, and John felt guilty for not spending the time on Earth with Aeryn.

"There has to be something she has only ever tasted in the time since she's been a peacekeeper!" D'Argo exclaimed, frustrated. Like John expected, the eyes around the room were turned to him. He understood, he'd spent the most time with her, he'd have to know something!

"I don't-" John began, when an idea popped into his mind. "Wait a second, I think I have a solution. But it is not going to be easy, we're going to have to get her to the cell she was in on our first day together.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good plan, good plan, good plan!" John muttered repetitively under his breath as he walked down the corridor to Scorpius and Sikozu's laboratory. There was something to be said about a plan when even the person who came up with it was doubting the outcome. But it was the only plan they had.

"Yo, Sputnik! How's the stun bomb coming?" He said as he entered the laboratory. Sikozu looked up from her work at the use of the nickname she despised.

"It is coming along well. It would be finished quicker however if you didn't interrupt!" Sikozu snapped angrily. John sighed.

"Well, we don't have long. Pilot confirmed that Aeryn has finished verifying the information I gave her, and is now beginning to gather supplies," He said. "Once the bomb is done, take it to the cell where Noranti is waiting to help you conceal it."

Sikozu nodded, then turned her back to John and resumed her work. John sighed again, and wandered off to check on Pilot, and to be sure all the other arrangements whee taken care of.

"Heya Pilot! How's everything going? " He asked with a smile as her approached pilots console. Pilot was deep in thought, his four arms moving precisely as they were needed, monitoring all of Moya's systems. When he heard John, he bowed his head in greeting and returned to his thoughts before answering.

"All the preparations have been made, Commander Crichton. Aeryn is currently on tier 18, moving towards her required position as we speak. Sikozu and Scorpius have completed their project, and it is in the cell, awaiting your activation. D'Argo and Chiana are in command, monitoring all comm. signals, and Rigel is in the access shaft above tier 14. The only thing left is for you to get Aeryn into position."

"Thanks Pilot. How are you and Moya? The last few days have been pretty difficult…" John reached up to pat Pilot's cheek.

"We are fine, Commander. Moya thanks you for your concern, and agrees with me when I say that we would do anything to assist you in getting Aeryn Sun back."

"Thank you Pilot. Wish me luck, knowing my plans, I'll need it."

"Good luck Commander Crichton."

John slowly walked through Moya until her reached Tier 14. When he was there, he tapped his comm. badge twice, as signal that he was in position. After he heard D'Argo, Rigel and Sikozu's signal, he strode forward, whistling. If Aeryn was taking the route Pilot suspected she would take, she should be able to hear him when she reached this tier. For now, He just had to wait.

* * *

 

Rigel crawled along Tier 14's access shaft, following the sound of the human's whistling. He was not particularly happy with the arrangement, but it was better than having that peacekeeper tralk on the loose. Suddenly, he hard the mechanical whir of a DRD as it approached Crichton, beeping out the same tune as the human was whistling. Rigel gulped as he recognised Pilot's signal. Aeryn was on her way.

* * *

"Aeryn! There you are! So, have you verified my explanation yet? Or are you still happy as a peacekeeper. You were back when I met you, but I knew there was something different about you. I knew you could be more," As he'd expected, John's words caused Aeryn to pause for a microt, before attacking John with the same moves she'd used in their sparing lessens over the last three and a half cycles, so John was used to them, and knew the counter moves.

"What do you want from me, you frelling human?" Aeryn said, as John knocked her to the ground, trapping he arms by her sides using an old move he learnt when he was training on Earth.

"I want to know if you want to remember the last three cycles. I want to know if you want to remember me, and everything I've been through, and everything the crew's been through, but most importantly, I want to know if you want to remember what you've been through." John paused, and Aeryn took the opportunity to try and throw him off, but he just re adjusted his weight and continued. "Just give it a chance Aeryn, try to remember. At least then you can make a decision about whether you are happy on Moya. About whether you are happy not being a peacekeeper. About whether you are happy to go back to murdering hundreds of innocent lives, like the lives of everyone onboard Moya, who have been chased from their homes, tracked through the uncharted territories, and who are hunted, even here in Tormented Space. Just Give your memory a chance!"

"I am born and bred a peacekeeper. I will always be a peacekeeper. You cannot change me" Aeryn said and threw John of her, not realising that he had planned that she would do that, and not noticing the access hatch she had rolled near.

"I have changed you Aeryn, and I am very sorry for what's about to happen." John said, getting to his feet. Aeryn looked puzzled for a microt, until John called out "Now Sparky!"

* * *

 

"Now Sparky!" Rigel heard from his position in the access shaft, near the hatch.

"Why the yotz am I doing this? I am a Dominar!" He grumbled as he exited the shaft and approached Aeryn with the sedative in one hand. When she felt him inject her, Aeryn turned startled, and moved to grab the Hynerian but the concoction kicked in well before she had a chance to get to him.

"Next time, get a DRD! Rigel said to Crichton, before climbing on board his throne sled as it whirred down the corridor and hovered off.

* * *

 

After Rigel had left, John lifted Aeryn's unconscious body into his arms with the same ease he had on the planet. She looked almost serene, with her eyes closed, and her lips turned up into a smile. The gash on her head from the falling rubble had almost completely healed, which once again reminded John that humans were inferior physically to Sebaceans.

When he reached the cell Aeryn was to awaking in, he found Noranti.

"NORANTI! What the frell are you doing here? Pilot said the bomb was in position, you were meant to have left already!" John yelled in a whisper, not wanting to wake Aeryn.

"Yes, well, I wanted to make sure that my sedative was not too strong. Chiana accident swallowed some after I finished making it, and she is still out cold." Noranti said, tilting her head to the side, as she checked Aeryn's pulse. "She's okay, she should be waking up soon."

"Right, thanks. Well, here goes," John said, as he places Aeryn against the cell wall, and slipped out of the cell, closing the door behind him. "Sink or swim."


	5. Chapter 5

"Let me out of here!" Aeryn shouted as she tried to force the doors open with her bare hands. John stood outside the cell, a grim expression on his face.

"Aeryn, you know we can't do that. If we let you out, you'll run off, and we'll never be able to get your memory back to you," John said patiently, as he waited for Aeryn to calm down.

"You don't know how to get my memory back!" Aeryn said, and slumped back against the wall.

"No, but we can try. I know you Aeryn, and I know that not know is killing you," John said, leaning his head against the door. "Please, give a chance."

"You make little sense human. How can you help me when you are clearly higher brain function deficient?" Aeryn Joined John at the door, and leant her head opposite his.

"You just got to trust me I guess," John said. " Do you want to remember?"

"Yes" Aeryn whispered and John got to his feet.

"Then I promise you, I will do my best to help you," He said, turned and left.

* * *

 

John opened the drawer beside his bed and took out the little vial of golden liquid. He held it momentarily in his hands, turning it over and over, before he removed the lid, and inhaled the scent of the liquid on the dropper. As he had expected, there was no smell, but he could almost taste the scent on his tongue. He sighed and stood, taking the vial with him as he went back to Aeryn's cell.

* * *

 

Aeryn was waiting for John when he got back. AS he opened the cell door, she stood away, and did not try to stop him entering, or try to escape.

"Do you trust me Aeryn?" He asked and Aeryn nodded. Carefully and slowly, John lifted the vial and held it up at eye level. Aeryn gasped.

"What? What is it? Aeryn, do you know what this is?" John said, rushing to her side.

"No, but something made me feel like I do, and I got this strange feeling in here," Aeryn said, laying a hand on her stomach. "What is that?"

"This is something that may help you get your memory back. I'm not sure if it will work, but we have no better ideas," John said, brushing a strand of Aeryn's hair out of her face. "Just follow me, okay?"

Aeryn nodded, and John took off the lid, and held it out to her. She tilted her head back, and John placed a drop of the liquid on her tongue, before doing the same for himself. Slowly, he bent down to Aeryn and touched the tip of her tongue with his, before he placed his hand on her cheek and brought her face to his, kissing her gently.

Aeryn tasted the sweetest taste she'd ever known upon her tongue, and eagerly kissed John back. With a crack like thunder, her head seemed to split in two, and she fell into a heap, slowed by John's arms as he knelt beside her. Aeryn had images, emotions and thoughts flash through her mind –being caught in starburst, John in the Flax, false Earth, the Gammak Base, the kiss after the royal planet, the fear of falling through the ice and dying with John, Zhaan dying to save her, John on Talyn, radiation poisoning, running away, heat delirium, painful hallucinations of shooting John, John comforting her, Earth, drugs, and bricks raining down around her. With a sob, she accepted the memories as they came flooding back to her, and she felt the warm comfort of John's arms around her.

"John?" She whispered, to check if he was okay.

"Aeryn, baby, do you remember?" He asked, looking down at her, gently brushing his lips across her forehead.

"Yes," Aeryn replied, and stretched her mouth up to his, kissing him with all the passion she had, before surrendering and placing her head against his warm chest, rocking back and forth in his arms. "It's good to be back."

* * *

 

An arn later, John, Aeryn, D'Argo, Chiana, Noranti and Rigel sat in the galley with their plates piled high with food. No one noticed that Aeryn had her chair inched closer to John then was normal, or the secretive smiles the two shared. The crew laughed and joked like they hadn't in along time, but the night wore on, and it was eventually time for each to retire to their quarters.

John and Aeryn took advantage of the late time, and headed up to the terrace, where they sat, Aeryn leaning up against John, who had his arms around her, and looked up at the stars.

"I thought I'd lost you when I brought you back to Moya," John said, and Aeryn looked up at him.

"I just relived three and a half cycles worth of memories in less then an arn," and John smiled.

"At least we're together," He said, and kissed her softly.

"For now," Aeryn said, and John looked at her, surprised.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and Aeryn laughed.

"Well, Fate has a way of frelling with us. Just promise me you'll never leave me alone," She said, and John made the promise.

"For ever, baby," He said, and they stared out at the stars that lit up the beautiful sky.


End file.
